History

The History department at Uxbridge High School occupies a suite of rooms in the Old Building and currently consists of three full-time members of staff.  All History classrooms are well-equipped and have interactive whiteboards.

At Key Stage 3 students study a wide range of topics from the Battle of Hastings to the Crusades and Medieval Cordoba to World War II.  In Year 7 students focus on ‘Living and Believing’, in Year 8 they look at ‘Power and Protest’ and in Year 9 the focus is on ‘Conflict and Cooperation’.

Homework is set on a regular basis to consolidate students’ learning.  Students are formally assessed three times per year throughout Key Stage 3 and informally each half term.

At GCSE the students follow the WJEC Specification A Syllabus.  Students learn about many topics from 20th Century world history, which are formally examined at the end of Years 10 and 11.  Students look at two countries in depth: Russia and South Africa (1960-1994), where they study the Apartheid system or Palestine and Israel in the Middle East (1919-1990), which is an outline study.  Two Controlled Assessments are completed in Years 10 and 11, with a focus on the events and effects of the World Wars.

For A Level, we offer the students the AQA Syllabus.  In Year 12 the students study two topics in depth, Unit 1: ‘Britain 1483-1642′ and Unit 2: ‘Life in Nazi Germany 1933-1945′ .  In Year 13, students study Unit 3: ‘Triumph and Collapse: Russia and the USSR, 1941-1991′ and Unit 4 is the Historical Enquiry – which is the coursework option and students write a piece of coursework based on change in Eastern and Central Europe between 1900 and 2000.  AS Government and Politics is also offered as a twilight option.

The History Department offers a number of opportunities for the students to enrich their studies, both in school and on a number of interesting school trips and visits.  These have included the London Dungeons, Warwick Castle, the WWI and WWII Battlefields in Ypres and Normandy, Russia, Auschwitz-Birkeneau Concentration Camp in Poland and the Imperial War Museum.  Those students who study Government and Politics will also visit the Houses of Parliament and meet with their local MP where possible.